Survey suggests 75% of pet rabbits in Britain are cruelly neglected and mistreated

Rabbits are one of Britain's favourite pets, beaten into third place only by dogs and cats. But new evidence suggests they are also one of the most cruelly neglected and misunderstood. There are up to two million rabbits being kept and bred in the backyards and gardens of the UK. However, according to a new survey, up to three quarters of them are being badly treated. Not only are they being kept in woefully cramped conditions, a situation for which the pet industry bears a heavy responsibilty; they are also becoming sick through being fed the wrong food.

A majority of the rabbit owners asked did not know what the correct diet for their pet was, and almost half didn't know that rabbits needed space in which to exercise. The owners' survey, commissioned by a group of animal welfare organisations including the RSPCA, found that 60% didn't know that their pets were intelligent and social creatures that needed mental stimulation.



"Officers have been worried for many years about the rabbit. They are intelligent and inquisitive animals who have been getting the bad end of the deal for a long time now, and we really have to try to do something to change people's attitudes and tackle the ignorance that sadly is so prevalent," said RSPCA inspector Tony Woodley, who added that the charity had rescued 33,000 pet rabbits from cruelty in the past three years. There have also been some 250 convictions of cruelty to rabbits over that period.

"If you ask any RSPCA officer which animal they feel most sorry for, it's usually the poor, forgotten rabbit sitting in a tiny hutch without the proper food, or any food at all, and some dirty water. It might once have been loved for a brief time by some child, but it has quickly been forgotten and it's a very sad sight that I have seen countless times." Three-quarters of the rabbits seen by British vets are in poor health, suffering from obesity and rotting or overgrown teeth.